


The Living Juliet

by holyhael



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-19
Updated: 2014-05-19
Packaged: 2018-01-25 18:26:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1658129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holyhael/pseuds/holyhael
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wherein rogue angels invade Hell to prevent the First Seal from breaking, and a demon recites Shakespeare to an angel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Living Juliet

**Author's Note:**

> the title comes from an excerpt of shakespeare's romeo and juliet. read it [here](http://www.alsintl.com/resources/poetry/the-living-juliet/).

“What’s the four-one-one on cloud nine?” Ruby asked, polishing her knife with her shirt, the blood from the last demon she cut streaking dark in the purple fabric. She looked up from the task briefly to watch her companion fiddle with her own weapon. Ash coated the deadly silver, dulling it somewhat. Ruby couldn’t tell if the ash came from Hell or a fallen angel.

Anna sighed. “They didn’t let me in. I wouldn’t know.”

Ruby’s conversational smile fell flat. “Oh.” She paused, thinking of what someone with empathy would say. She comes up with, “That sucks.”

It’s not the best line, Ruby realized, but Anna still smiled. “Yeah, it does. I haven’t spoken with Muriel in ages…. I miss her.”

Ruby dropped a hand from her knife and placed it on Anna’s shoulders, which stiffened at first, then relaxed. They seemed so frail and thin for such a powerful creature. Although nearly everything about Anna’s vessel appeared fragile, from its pale skin, to its large eyes, to its soft, pretty features, Ruby knew from experience that Anna was as strong as angels come, perhaps stronger.

As the moment grew longer, the tension between and in them drained away. Ruby’s hand rubbed back and forth on Anna’s shoulder blade, and Anna melted into Ruby. They were both tired of fighting this war.

“How much longer before Captain Chuckles decides to round up his troops?” Ruby asked.

Anna grimaced against Ruby’s shoulder. “Hopefully not any time soon.”

“Yeah?” Ruby smiled. “You like this?”

“Despite all rationality, yes, I do.” Anna lifted her head up to look Ruby in the eye. “You’re one of us, but you’re still a demon.”

Ruby bit the inside of her cheeks.

“Angels shouldn’t even be able to feel the way I do, even toward a human.”

“You’re forgetting I used to be human once.”

Anna smiled sadly. “I don’t forget.”

Silence descended between them. Far away, the sounds of the rogue angels clanged and clobbered. Anna and Ruby were supposed to be with them, but an angel with hair almost as red as Anna’s had taken one look at them and told them she’d cover their asses if they needed alone time, which neither of them could pass up.

Taking in a deep breath, Anna covered Ruby’s knee with her hand. “The point is… I care about you, Ruby. But….”

“You’re a Capulet and I’m a Montague,” Ruby filled in.

“Who says I’m Juliet?” Anna asked playfully. She gave Ruby a light shove as she pushed off her shoulder. Her red hair swung around and her eyes shone bright.

“‘Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, Having some business, do intreat her eyes To twinkle in their spheres till they return,’” Ruby recites, kittenish smile to match Anna’s teasing one dimpling her cheeks.

Anna huffed out a disbelieving laugh. “I know that passage.”

“‘What if her eyes were there, they in her head?’” Ruby continued. The words flowed out of her effortlessly, and as she went on, they sounded as Shakespeare meant them to be spoken: truthfully, naturally, beautifully; perhaps in love, no matter how foolishly so. Anna watched her with a smile pressed to her lips. “‘The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars.’” Ruby touched Anna’s blushing cheek, letting Anna look away for a moment out of shyness before recapturing her attention and going on. “‘As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven Would through the airy region stream so bright That birds would sing and think it were not night.’”

Anna took a deep breath, and Ruby let her hand fall to her lap. They were once again quiet as they took in their situation, each other, the words Ruby had spoken.

At last, Anna said, “Romeo and Juliet committed suicide because they didn’t want to live without each other. That’s not how our story ends.”

“Of course not,” Ruby said. “We’re smarter than those fictitious bitches.”

“You were the one to bring them up,” Anna reminded her. “How did you recite that passage anyway?”

Ruby shrugged. “Shakespeare’s an interesting guy. Met him once or twice before… well, you know Do the words ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’ ring any bells.”

Anna’s eyes widened in incredulity. “No way!”

“No, but every bachelorette wished it were them. Yours truly included. That man had a way with words….” As Anna began laughing lightly, Ruby added, “And his tongue.”

“Ruby!”

Ruby grinned fast and large, but before she could reply, a shout beckoned them to rejoin the garrison. Her smile dropped and she rolled her eyes.

“Jesus, give a girl five minutes of peace, will you?” She stood up and offered Anna her hand to do the same.

“Five minutes of peace in a forty year war,” Anna mused. Hands clasped together, they walked back to the garrison, but they weren’t in any hurry. “We have to take what we can, I guess.”

Ruby’s palm felt clammy in Anna’s tight grasp. “Yeah, but would it really be so bad if we lost a couple of hours? We’re nowhere close to this righteous chick and we’ve been at this for _eons_. Taking a catnap won’t be the end of the world.”

“You don’t know that,” Anna said. “The first seal could break in that time. We don’t know how bad the situation is yet, how long she can still hold on.” The angel pulled them to a stop and forced Ruby to meet her gaze. “How long did you last?”

“Couple years. A lifetime of corsets and unwelcome gentlemen suitors really came in handy, let me tell you. Those were torture in their own right. It was like prep for the pit, I swear.”

Anna’s jaw tightened, lips an even line.

They started walking again, this time at a less leisurely pace. Ruby bit her cheeks again and felt between her teeth at the swollen flesh. At this rate, she’ll never be able to get rid of the prominence.

As they rounded on the garrison, Anna and Ruby, on a mutual decision, dropped hands. It was no secret among the rogue angels that Ruby and Anna weren’t typical allies, but it wasn’t something anyone talked about or drew attention to. The angels weren’t supposed to be interested in the little, personal things, although this group had already broken from the main line with the whole charging into Hell to prematurely cut off the Apocalypse. Before long, the rest of them’d take steps to sample and discover the full enchilada of rebellion like Anna did. If they survived Lucifer’s inevitable rise, that was.

Anna came to a stop next to the head honcho angels while Ruby tucked herself with the goons. She crossed her arms over her chest and gave the pretense of her undivided attention to the commanding angel, who acknowledged their return with a nod. In all reality, she couldn’t stop thinking about Anna’s soft skin, her bright eyes, her conviction and independence, how Ruby wished she could have used their reprieve to kiss her. She stared at her across the way, but the angel did not catch her eyes.

 


End file.
